There s more than one kind of monster. When Chase Daniels first sees the little girl in umbrella socks tearing open the Rottweiler, he's not too concerned. As a longtime meth addict, he s no stranger to horrifying, drug-fueled hallucinations. But as he and his fellow junkies soon discover, the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived. The funny thing is, Chase s life was over long before the apocalypse got here, his existence already reduced to a stinking basement apartment and a filthy mattress and an endless grind of buying and selling and using. He s lied and cheated and stolen and broken his parents hearts a thousand times. And he threw away his only shot at sobriety a long time ago, when he chose the embrace of the drug over the woman he still loves. And if your life s already shattered beyond any normal hopes of redemption well, maybe the end of the world is an opportunity. Maybe it s a last chance for Chase to hit restart and become the man he once dreamed of being. Soon he s fighting to reconnect with his lost love and dreaming of becoming her hero among civilization s ruins. But is salvation just another pipe dream? Propelled by a blistering first-person voice and featuring a powerfully compelling antihero, Fiend is at once a riveting portrait of addiction, a pitch-black love story, and a meditation on hope, redemption, and delusion not to mention one hell of a zombie novel.

Praise for The Underwater Window The Underwater Window starts fast and moves along with a 6-beat kick. Dan Stephenson knows swimming, and he brings out the richness of the sport. But you don't need to be a swim- mer to enjoy this great story of friendship and rivalry. - ROWDY GAINES, 3-time Olympic swimming gold medalist There's romance in this story, just below the surface. What's most endearing about Doyle Wilson is not the all-consuming pursuit of his swimming goals, but his growing awareness that there's more to life, and that swimming is preparing him for it. I enjoyed this book immensely. - JANET EVANS WILLSON, 4-time Olympic swimming gold medalist On many occasions, I caught myself saying, "Yeah, that's exactly what it was like." If you want to discover how to build a champion in life not just in the pool , read this book - JOHN NABER, 4-time Olympic swimming gold medalist This engaging and easily readable novel, written by a world Masters swimming champion, plunges you deep into the fascinating fast-lane world of Olympic swimming competition. - JONATHAN ROWE, Author I laughed, I cheered, I rode the waves of adrenaline. I highly recommend this book to swimmers and non-swimmers alike. - BRIAN GOODELL, 2-time Olympic swimming gold medalist SWIMMING HAS BROUGHT ARCHIE HAYES MEDALS, fame, money and women. Doyle Wilson is at the end of his career with dreams unfulfilled. They both thirst for the gold medal in the 400 free. But Doyle can't be single-minded. Archie isn't just his nemesis, he's his teammate and best friend. Danger lurks everywhere for Archie, a celebrity athlete with a reckless streak. Doyle sees his duty to preserve Archie's incomparable talent, but will it keep Doyle from achieving his lifelong dream?

"A charming portrait of the Smokies, their people, and a wonderful way of life." --Deborah Smith, New York Times bestselling author Set in Tennessee's postcard-perfect Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp's Makin' Miracles is an inspiring tale that reveals why love and forgiveness are most important just when they seem most impossible. . . Zola Devon has always been a little different. Half Tahitian, with long black hair and dark eyes, she's especially distinctive in the mountain town of Gatlinburg. She even stocks her gift shop, Nature's Corner, with items that reflect her island heritage and tantalize tourists. But it's her spot-on intuition that truly sets Zola apart. When she gets a hunch about a person, she's almost always right. And when the surly photographer who owns the gallery next door starts meddling in her business, she can only hope that, for once, her instincts are wrong. The one thing Spencer Jackson loves more than his camera is the majestic scenery of the Smoky Mountains. Reeling from his painful past, he's settled in a cabin in the woods to train his lens on the breathtaking landscape. A woman as uniquely beguiling as Zola could only throw his simple, uncomplicated days into chaos--and force him to lay bare his darkest secrets. But as their lives become unavoidably intertwined, they both may discover the beauty of the truth, and the joy of the unexpected. Praise for Lin Stepp and her Smoky Mountain Novels "I've finally come across someone that believes in all the things that I do. . .love, family, faith, intrigue, mystery, loyalty, romance, and a great love for our beloved Smoky Mountains." Dolly Parton "A wonderful, new Southern voice." --Joan Medlicott, author of the bestselling The Ladies of Covington series

It is 1990, the stock markets are soaring and Lee Addison is on a fast track to success in Silicon Valley. Just out of law school with a job lined up at one of the best firms in the Bay Area, he is positioned to join the ranks of young elites who will shape the 21st century. But standing between him and his shining future is a promise to spend the summer back home in Riverton, Arkansas. He is unprepared for the siren pull his hometown still holds on his heart, as he grapples with his sister s troubled adolescence, ethical questions relating to the drowning death of a black youth and the weight of his ancestral legacy. To make matters worse, the allure of a rekindled relationship with Annie Rayburn threatens to disrupt his carefully planned future. This is a story of crisis and survival and the universal struggle to tap into values that will hold fast against the uncertainties of time.

$7.50

STERN, G.B.DEBONAIR THE STORY OF PERSEPGONE ALFRED-A-KNOPF 1928 hardcover. Later printing. Some wear from use. Good used book.. BOOK COND: Used; Good. JACKET COND: Lacks Jacket. Book #or1124531. (filed under: Fiction ) *

"In the 25 years since Stern published his first book, younger Jewish writers have run with a similar shtick . . . But Stern was there first." The Toronto Globe and Mail T he Book of Mischief triumphantly showcases twenty-five years of outstanding work by one of our true masters of the short story. Steve Stern's stories take us from the unlikely old Jewish quarter of the Pinch in Memphis to a turn-of-thecentury immigrant community in New York; from the market towns of Eastern Europe to a down-at-the-heels Catskills resort. Along the way we meet a motley assortment of characters: Mendy Dreyfus, whose bungee jump goes uncannily awry; Elijah the prophet turned voyeur; and the misfit Zelik Rifkin, who discovers the tree of dreams. Perhaps it's no surprise that Kafka's cockroach also makes an appearance in these pages, animated as they are by instances of bewildering transformation. The earthbound take flight, the meek turn incendiary, the powerless find unwonted fame. Weaving his particular brand of mischief from the wondrous and the macabre, Stern transforms us all through the power of his brilliant imagination.

Both the novels in this edition deal with division and duality. Full of romance, excitement and adventure, they present a sense of moral ambiguity coupled with a deep feeling for Scotland and its history.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Myth of You and Me , The History of Us is a heartrending story of love, loss, family, and the life you make in the path not taken. Sometimes home is the hardest place to go Eloise Hempel is on her way to teach her first class at Harvard when she receives the devastating news that her sister and her husband have been killed in a tragic accident. Eloise leaves her life in Cambridge and moves back into her family s century-old house in Cincinnati, pouring her own money into the house s upkeep and her heart into raising her sister s three children, Theodora, Josh, and Claire. Nearly twenty years later, the now-grown children seem ready to leave home, and Eloise plans to sell the house and finally start a life that s hers alone. But when Eloise s mother decides that they should all compete for the chance to keep the house and Claire reveals a life-changing secret, the makeshift family begins to fall apart and ultimately must decide what in life is worth fighting for.

Born of an incestuous relationship between King Arthur and his half sister, the evil sorceress Morgause, the bastard Mordred is reared in secrecy. Called to Camelot by events he cannot deny, Mordred becomes Arthur s most trusted counselor -- a fateful act that leads to the "wicked day of destiny" when father and son must face each other in battle.

$4.50

Stewart, TriciaCalendar Girl: In Which a Lady Of Rylstone Reveals All 2003 paperback. . Some wear from use. Good used book.. BOOK COND: Used; Very Good. Book #or1109903. ISBN #1585675156 / 9781585675159. (filed under: Fiction ) *

Stewart, TriciaCalendar Girl: In Which a Lady Of Rylstone Reveals All 2003 paperback. . Some wear from use. Good used book.. BOOK COND: Used; Very Good. Book #or1109903. ISBN #1585675156 / 9781585675159. (filed under: Fiction ) *

stock image, actual book may vary

It was a crazy idea and good for a laugh at the time: When Tricia Stewart proposed a more risqu treatment for her local Women s Institute s annual calendar, which normally featured tranquil scenes from nature, laughing alongside her was John Baker, the husband of the soon-to-be Miss February, Angela. When John passed away from cancer, the Ladies of Rylstone decided that posing nude for the calendar and donating the proceeds was one way to honor his memory and cope with this devastating loss. No one could have predicted what happened next. The calendar began to sell, and soon the whole world, it seemed, was interested in their story, with an American tour following and appearances on the Today show, 20 20 , CNN, and the Tonight show. Calendar Girl explores the phenomenon that The Ladies of Rylstone became, recounting with warmth and humor the moments of an exhilarating journey that transformed the lives of the remarkable women who became international sensations.

"Breezy, sophisticated, hilarious, rude and aching with sweetness: LOVE, NINA might be the most charming book I've ever read." --Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette In 1982, 20-year-old Nina Stibbe moved to London to work as a nanny to two opinionated and lively young boys. In frequent letters home to her sister, Nina described her trials and triumphs: there's a cat nobody likes, suppertime visits from a famous local playwright, a mysteriously unpaid milk bill, and repeated misadventures parking the family car. Dinner table discussions cover the gamut, from the greats of English literature, to swearing in German, to sexually transmitted diseases. There's no end to what Nina can learn from these boys rude words and their broad-minded mother the who's who of literary London . A charming, hilarious, sweetly inspiring celebration of bad food and good company, Love, Nina makes a young woman's adventures in a new world come alive.

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody s business, but she can t mind her tongue, so she s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the on